United States President Donald Trump has issued two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship. This move comes just weeks after the Supreme Court upheld the long-standing practice as a constitutionally protected right, marking a significant legal defeat for his administration.
The latest directives are more limited in scope than the president’s previous attempt to overhaul the system, which grants citizenship to almost all infants born within the United States. One of the new orders seeks to broaden an existing, narrow exception that currently denies citizenship to children born to foreign diplomats or invading forces.
A second order directs the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security to take action against “birth tourism.” This refers to the practice of expectant mothers traveling to the U.S. specifically to ensure their children are born on American soil.
Speaking from the Oval Office, President Trump criticized the Supreme Court for what he described as a “very unfortunate decision” regarding his earlier efforts. He claimed the court had “made a joke” out of birthright citizenship and stated that his administration is currently “making adjustments” to its strategy.
On January 20, 2025, his first day in office for his second term, Trump signed an order attempting to reinterpret the 14th Amendment. That policy argued that children born to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas were not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and thus ineligible for automatic citizenship.
The administration’s legal argument rested on the claim that the 14th Amendment was intended only for the children of newly freed slaves and had been misinterpreted since its 1868 ratification. However, in June, the Supreme Court ruled these efforts unlawful.
In the majority opinion, the Court noted that there was no evidence in the Citizenship Clause to suggest Congress intended to limit citizenship based on parental status. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, dismissed the administration’s stance as a “dramatically revisionist view,” noting that the Framers intended the promise to apply to “every free-born person in this land.”
Despite a conservative supermajority on the bench, six justices ultimately voted against the administration’s position. While immigration remains a central pillar of his political agenda, this ruling stands as one of the most significant legal setbacks of his second term. Legal experts anticipate that these new executive orders will likely face immediate court challenges.
On January 20, 2025 — the first day of his second term — Trump had signed an executive order seeking to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, to tighten the category of people who qualified for birthr
